Fresh Food Dudes

New New Thing

When Pham was ready to open his first restaurant, he looked at the Twin Cities dining scene and saw mostly potential. “It was big enough without being too big, and it was small enough without being too small,” he recalls. “It was also ready for something new and exciting.”

Around the time Pham was sizing up his next opportunity, Talebi, his brother, and their partners were surveying the same scene. They, too, saw it as anemic. “It needed some life,” Talebi says. “There are so many places you go to have dinner, but that’s it. I like to deliver an experience for people to come in, have that great food, then stick around and have a martini. We bring life to our concepts. We give them flair. We give them energy.”

Not willing to call the Twin Cities restaurant scene tired, local restaurant critic Peter Lilienthal admits that all scenes need to evolve and change with the times. The younger diners that Pham and Talebi typically appeal to have their own likes and dislikes. “Probably a big consideration for the 30-somethings is the value proposition,” Lilienthal says. “Kind of ironic when one thinks about it, because there are those in that age group who won’t hesitate for a minute to order an $11 martini.”

Indeed, cocktails are an essential part of the new restaurateurs’ mix. “Azia [has] an extensive array of grazing-type items,” Lilienthal notes. “At Bellanotte, it’s huge pastas and salads that are the big sellers. And in both cases, it’s the interesting drinks that keep the buzz going.”

Lilienthal believes that a key to success in the restaurant business “isn’t as much talent per se as it is access to capital and a sense of what the market is seeking at any given moment in time. The Twin Cities tend to be a notably fickle market, and longevity is a tough goal to achieve here. If you look at places like Bellanotte and Azia, I would suggest it’s the ‘beautiful people’ factor that’s the key to success. In fact, I do think that a young restaurateur might have a slight edge in that department.”

Both Talebi and Pham are continuing to expand their portfolios. The restaurants that Keyvan and Kam have invested in generated more than $10 million in gross revenues in 2006 and expect to pull in close to $15 million this year. The Talebis’ newest restaurant, Crave, opened in February, taking over the former Sidney’s space in Edina’s Galleria. By day, Crave will cater to a mostly female shopping clientele; by night, it will flaunt sophistication and some 125 different wines, showcased in a floor-to-ceiling, three-sided display that separates the lounge from the dining room.

In December, Pham opened his newest place, Temple, on 12th Street and Harmon Place in downtown Minneapolis, filling the space where the once-hot Tiburon operated until last year. Pham invested $1.2 million in Temple, which has similar price points to Azia but smaller portions. Temple’s bright, contemporary yet elegant décor complements Pham’s most creative menu yet. Its French-Asian fusion cuisine honors his grandmother and mixes in some Minnesota touches, particularly noticeable in items such as his smoked wild sturgeon sashimi salad. Large floor-to-ceiling windows and cushy half-booths give a cozy yet urban feel to the large, luxurious lounge, which is separated from the dining areas by a faux-stone waterfall and an S-shaped aquarium (the latter a partial leftover from Tiburon).

Pham’s $1.3 million Mix is slated to open in May in the Longfellow neighborhood at East Lake Street and 33rd Avenue South. “Mix will be a little more contemporary than Azia,” Pham says, but it also will serve Asian-fusion cuisine. That same month, Pham plans to move a little outside his comfort zone and open the Manhattan Martini Lounge. Located just two-and-a-half blocks east of Mix, it will have a 1940s New York feel.

Where To Next?

Pham, who is the sole owner of all his restaurants, says that ThanhDo provides $2 million in annual revenue and Azia about $4 million; in 2007, he projects about $3 million from Temple, just over $1 million from Mix, and about $500,000 from the Manhattan Martini Lounge. Beyond knowing his financials, the money aspect of the business doesn’t appeal much to Pham. “I’m not trying to be a millionaire,” he says, smiling. He then quickly shakes his head and corrects himself: “Billionaire. Whatever.”

He doesn’t see himself ever doing anything other than running his restaurants. “I have been in the business now for almost 20 years,” he says. “I started at a young age and I’m loving it.” Risk is second nature to him, so while his plans don’t really extend much past 2007, his history suggests that more Pham-owned eateries will soon open up. “I came from a communist society where I had to worry about my life every day, whether or not I was going to survive,” he says. “I’m not afraid of losing.” 

When Keyvan Talebi is asked where he sees himself in five years, he replies with a smile: “Have you heard of an island called Fiji?” He and his brother hope to have a few more restaurants in their portfolio, “maybe two or three,” he says. Adds brother Kam, “I think we’re open minded. The year in which we don’t see the viability in new units will be when we operate just our current units.” He and his brother have not ruled out chains, franchises, or expanding to other states.

Will either Talebi or Pham still be a part of the Twin Cities dining scene in 10 years? “Over the 29 years I’ve been a restaurant critic, I’ve seen a lot of wonderful restaurateurs come and go, and I can’t think of much of a reason for the demise of some great places other than the fact that new upstarts came along to take their place,” Lilienthal observes.

That suggests that even upstarts need to be cautious. “Probably one of the greatest undoings of some very talented people has been overexpansion,” Lilienthal adds. He points to Gordon Schutte, who owned seven Twin Cities restaurants in the 1980s, most notably the 510 in Minneapolis, before overreaching caused him to close them all, and David Fhima, whose financial difficulties made the papers last year. “Both [are] charmers to a fault, but they weren’t cut out like the D’Amicos are to manage a multitude of operations,” Lilienthal observes.

Is there a lesson there for new-generation restaurateurs Pham and the Talebis? “If I were advising the guys,” Lilienthal says, “I’d tell them not to let success go to their heads.”